The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

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The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by Old Man Aaron » Mon Mar 23, 2020 7:10 am

Many years ago, I was a member of a 5" & 7¼" club here in Queensland. At the 2012 club Xmas party, I met a fellow named Anthony whom had recently joined, and had brought with him, a kit-built Accucraft Ruby. I recognised that loco sitting on the table, from Peter Jones' book, and started a conversation. Turns out we were both primarily interested in sugarcane railways, and we've been good mates ever since. By the end of that day, I decided I wanted a Ruby too.
I received one a year later, for my 18th birthday. As I'd spent the preceding year researching Rubies, I knew the loco inside and out by the time I had one.
In under a month, I had the loco stripped, repainted, and some minor mods made to turn it into a sugarcane loco. The loco was named "Baron", after a villain in a Playstation game I enjoyed. As is evident, I'm pretty awful at coming up with names - but I think somehow it fits this loco.. By then, Anthony had assembled (most of)a RH Fowler kit. Neither of us had any track at the time, but we got lucky with the dual-gauge ride-on track at the club. Obviously, we couldn't run over the points, and the gauge on the curves varied too much for these much smaller models, but we had fun running back and forth along the straights.
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I'd built a pair of wagons from balsa and popsicle sticks in anticipation of the Rubies' delivery. They were loosely based on Mapleton Tramway prototypes.
Link-and-pin couplings in 45mm - never again!
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"No, Mum & Dad, I don't want to build a track at home, running at the club is good enough"
Yeah, right.

Eight months later... 17/07/2014
The Fat C*ntroller starts construction on the Anzac Creek Tramway. I've never liked the name - it was only a vaguely-Australian-sounding placeholder until I came up with a better name. But I'm useless for coming up with names, so "Anzac Creek" has unfortunately stuck, for both the line and my blog.
I had no income at the time, save for birthday and Xmas money, so it was always going to be a slow job. I found Mr. Bond of the DVLR's Youtube series on building a garden line to be very informative, (I ought to go back and re-read his line's thread soon) and used his method of building roadbed and track. It was cheap, easy, and could take the annual coastal deluges where I lived. Around that time, I started lurking here on the forum, employing the wealth of knowledge and ideas available.
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The bricks were scavenged from abandoned lots, alleyways and construction/renovation leftovers around the neighborhood. There was also a large soccer field parking lot, of gravel. A dozen bucketfulls wouldn't go amiss, I thought - brought home one bucket at a time, on the back of my bicycle..
A few buckets of sand were similarly liberated from a nearby man-made lagoon behind the housing estate.
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Due to the non-existent budget, the bridge over Anzac Creek was made from whatever I could find. The stringers are cut from a spare rake stick, the pile caps are hardwood offcuts from the light-up scrap box at the club, and the piles themselves are debarked paperbark sticks.
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The bridge parts were heavily painted with grey primer. The parts were coloured with an acrylic "weathered timber" paint mix I had on hand, and given several coats of decking oil. This "preservative" worked about as well as one would expect. :roll:
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I considered making Anzac Creek functional, but that would've required money. Having it as a dry, seasonal creek was good enough.
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Hand-laid track is the most affordable option, so that's what I picked. A friend from the club lent me a set of handlaid points to study its contruction. I ordered 30 brass rail joiners and 19 six-foot lengths of Sunset Valley aluminium rail from Argyle Loco Works in Melbourne. At the time, the rails were $8ea, joiners were $1ea.
Sleepers were made from planks salvaged from a broken outdoor table someone left on their curb, and hardwood scraps from the club's overflowing light-up bin. To this day I've no idea what kind of timber any of it is, with some of those sleepers having fared far batter than others. The first section of track made, was the carriage siding. I figured if my first bit turns out poorly, it's only a siding and not the mainline. It came out reasonably well.
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At this point, I jumped into the first set of points at the end of the siding. I was going to make a conventional bladed set of points, but I decided that would be too hard, and made stub points. In hindsight I've realised making bladed points would be no harder than making stub points, and would be far less problematic than these stubs turned out to be. Dogspikes were flat-headed steel nails with their heads ground to a semi-circular shape.
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13/09/14
The second set of points is made, along with the moving stubs for both. The track has been ballasted with a mix of gravel, sand and dirt to encourage moss growth. A Lego mock-up of a Malcolm Moore loco (a future project at the time) is being used to test the track. Seems okay so far..
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One reason the stubs didn't work was that the tiebars were all superglued to the rails. It really needs to be a mechanical joint rather than a glued one. Quite frankly, this is dodgy and half-arsed as all hell. It wasn't until 2017 that I got around to remaking this trash with threaded rods holding the rails at the right gauge. Dirt, leaves etc. do still get under the rails and further upset the rails' alignment. Stub Points: Never Again.
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Sometimes track-laying continued into the night. Some of the rails have been brush-painted with Gloss Indian Red which over a few months, dulls down to a nice rusty brown. This was a b*st*rd to do once the track was fixed down. That said, I couldn't do it before laying the track, as ballasting would've scraped it all off, especially being aluminium rail.
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6/10/14. The last spike is finally being driven. I briefly considered painting it gold, but then realised I wanted this tracklaying over with, and in my book, a gold spike is a bit of a cliche at this point.
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Baron testing the track. Most of the track was ok, but all the points were nightmares, as were the steep grades I didn't realise I'd made - as was an ill-conceived reverse-curve into a set of points near the front of the layout.
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I was anxious to have some friends over to play trains on the new tramway, before Spring ends. Gets to +40°C pretty quickly where I lived back then. Doesn't help that that we were than a mile from the beach, so it's always humid.
So I set a date to invite some friends and members of the ride-on club over, for the 18th of October 2014. This was a dumb move, as it didn't give me enough time to properly troubleshoot the track and make sure everything actually worked. Some buildings were knocked up from mostly popsicle sticks, scrap wood & spaghetti tins.
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The day turned out a farce. Everything derailed in both directions over all the points and the reverse-curve, the inside curve of the passing loop was too tight, the clearances in the rock cutting up the back were too tight for most stock, and to top it off, Baron's burner was, well after all, an Accu-crap burner.. Looking back, it was all so bad that it's really just hilarious..
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Yet more to come..
Last edited by Old Man Aaron on Thu Jul 22, 2021 2:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Aaron - Scum Class Works

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018

Post by GTB » Mon Mar 23, 2020 7:32 am

That track looks familiar.......

Did you write an article about your track for AME some years ago?

I remember thinking at the time that it looked pretty good laid around the native plants in the garden bed.

That was about the time I retired and moved up in scale from VR broad gauge in HO to Victorian timber trams in Fn3.

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Graeme

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018

Post by LNR » Mon Mar 23, 2020 7:46 am

Great story, not sure that your doing anything different to the way many of us started out. You make mistakes and you learn from them.
Be interested in your thoughts on aluminium track, as I've just laid a couple of lengths and like you I'm near the sea. Have you noticed any corrosion? it does certainly stand out with its silver colour.
Grant.

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018

Post by ge_rik » Mon Mar 23, 2020 8:07 am

A really interesting saga. I admire your scavenger-led approach. Thanks for the warning about stub pointwork. I've not made any pointwork yet, but it is on the agenda.

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018

Post by Old Man Aaron » Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:29 am

Aye, t'was indeed my article in AME. I'd always intended to write a follow-up, but for the most part it would've just said "Don't do it the way I did!" :lol:
I'm no longer involved with the ride-on side of things, and what with AME no longer being sold in newsagents, I haven't read it since the last retail issue..

In the line's four years, I never found any corrosion, not even under the brass rail joiners. I've had no complaints with the stuff, thus far.
If I ever made another set of stubs, I'd say I'd mount the entire thing upon an aluminium bar, to hold it all straight and level. I reckon you're just the man to make a set of working stubs, Rik.

And thanks, I was quite pleased with the planting at the time, myself. It certainly improved as time went on..


Anyway..
After putting the garden line out of my mind for a month, I set about making it operable. The passing loop points (the most troublesome) were locked, and most of the loop cut out with an angle grinder. The remaining section of passing loop was to serve a goods shed or livestock ramp, although "hand of god" shunting would be required.The points into the locoshed/carriage siding were fettled until they (mostly) worked.
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17/03/2015
I had been looking for something to rebuild into a station for Anzac Creek. I didn't want to be so ambitious to build something from scratch. Eventually, I found this at a cheap shop for $10.
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18/04/2015
The weather's cooling down, and with the track recently made serviceable, it's time to actually run some trains.
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The line's bedding in after a few months, and the garish new sleepers look much better now. New and existing plants are slowly filling in the gaps.
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This reverse curve continued to be an occasional issue, but careful control of the loco minimised the problem.
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The carriage siding was extended by 18" using a section of the redundant station passing loop; It'll now fit all four of my current wagons. A small junkyard was also started behind the shed. Surplus rail corrugated bean tin scraps, popsicle-stick planks, plastic caboose ladders and even a a full-size dogspike I found, from the local Moreton cane tramways. (closed 2003) No doubt this will be expanded over time.
I also planted some Moreton sugarcane to the left.
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The loco facilities are holding up ok so far in the hot, humid, occasionally stormy weather.
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The line up to the rock cutting was much steeper than it looked. Locos needed a lot of regulator to pull a train up it and get around that 2' radius corner in the cutting. They'd then fly around the other side, often derailing on the reverse curve at Anzac Creek. A few months later, this section would be pulled up and relaid with a much less severe gradient. Running improved all round after that. The cat-run (something like an aviary for indoor cats) on the right was a constant obstacle.
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The rock cutting was inspired by the numerous rock cuttings of the Buderim Tramway, another local line, closed in '35. I can't remember, but I think this photo was taken shortly before I widened the cutting to accommodate visiting equipment. Note the runners from the sword ferns creeping down the rocks and into the ballast. I regret planting these things, they are unbelievably invasive. But they look good and they were free.
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The loco shed received a new roof around this time, using some nice (expensive) corrugated aluminium from Evilbay.
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22/05/15
Another running day with mates was very successful this time, I even set up the HO layout in the garage. Ordered pizzas for lunch, burned coal in the brazier 'cause we all love the smell, everyone brought something to run, a very good day.
My mate Ben's newly-accquired Auccucraft Ida being coupled up to a train, as my Mamod TE1A "Anzac" ticks over on the platform.
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No post-effects here, just a couple of weirdly decent shots.
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19/06/15
Station's progressing. No idea why I put the end windows so high up..
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02/07/15
Plenty more plants have been added. Some took hold, many died. I had a bit of a brown thumb back then. I've been scraping up 'pads' of moss from around the air conditioner's moisture drain out the side of the house. The moss was then torn up into smaller bits and mixed in with Rowlands-type "top dressing" mix, applied over the track and watered in. Thanks to the shade, it generally worked pretty well, long as it was watered every couple of days in the warmer months.
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07/08/15
A 9"x12" patch of "Sagina Subulata" was planted to represent a sugarcane field, surrounded by a fence of 1/4" balsa and galvanised tie wire.
Bamboo reed screening was camouflage-painted with various colours of spray paint. It was then fixed to the fence with heavy-duty staples. A huge improvement over the bare fence, in my book.
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Regards,
Aaron
Last edited by Old Man Aaron on Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Aaron - Scum Class Works

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by tom_tom_go » Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:35 am

This story reminds me of a friend who grew up in a remote part of SA and scavenging to make and repair items was part of daily life. The way he can apply himself now as an adult to problems amazes me and I think you are the same Aaron in your thought process.

Looking forward to further updates!

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by Puddlejumper » Mon Mar 23, 2020 11:00 am

A thoroughly enjoyable read, thank you for sharing the inspirational story of your railway. I'm looking forward to further updates.
Doug

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by Old Man Aaron » Mon Mar 23, 2020 2:33 pm

23/09/15
Another running day, and Anzac Creek's station building is done. Still needs benches, people and maybe a nameboard. A couple of baby ferns were planted behind the platform for "prettyfication". They cost all of $2.70ea from Bunnings.
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One of Anthony's projects at the time, cobbled together entirely from leftover parts.
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14/01/2016
The line gets pretty badly overgrown when I leave it during the hotter months. My half-a**ed loco shed and watertank are falling apart, too. I've patched them up a couple times now, will have to start designing better quality replacements.
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22/02/16
For a while, I'd wanted a level crossing here, so I bought some more cement and used some popsicle sticks I had on hand.
(Note to self, remove bamboo screen at end of road before concreting) The road was 1:1 cement & sand, with some acrylic paint mixed in for colour. The colour lasted surprisingly well.
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15/02/16
An attempt was made at track testing a rake of cane trucks then under construction, but were too light to run reliably, so I posed them and "Baron" for some photos.
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I'd made up a large batch of Rowlands Mix, but with a larger portion of sand and cement this time. I wish I'd made note of the ratios, because it's the best ballast mix I ever concocted. The moss grows well on/in it, and it's formed a nice tough skin impervious to washaways from the rain.
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I've binned the disintegrating the old loco shed and built a new one in it's image, using the original's roofing sheets.
This time it's not made from offcuts and the timber has been coloured by soaking the parts in an acrylic wash for a more natural finish than the soupy glop I used to use.
I've also used outdoor PVA and a wood sealer to stop it falling apart outside. However, I'd made the mistake of treating every part with the oil-based sealer before assembly, so the glue couldn't properly adhere to the wood. Some parts had fallen off and deformed overnight. And this was with no rain, just dew! Very annoying as I'll have to somehow find space indoors to store it.. At least I don't have to constantly sweep the sand off/out, remove bug's nests and rebuild it when the weather eventually does wear it out. I also had the same outcome with a replacement water tank built at the same time. Like the shed, the tank was 90% new, with proper materials.
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I intended to detail the interior of the last shed but knew I'd never get round to it.
This time so it actually gets done, I made a point to do the detailing as part of making the building in the first place. The cement-mix ballast was carefully built up around the base of the shed, then very carefully watered in. This left a nice "socket" shape in the ballast so the shed can be carefully placed and removed, and blend seamlessly into the ground. This "socket" has proven itself surprisingly resistant to damage.
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The workshop area is different from the last, having that wall behind the workbench.
And yes, that's a 1:24 scale Ford flathead V8 under the bench, leftover from a car kit. Under-scale but good enough.
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Not long after, I decided to extend the line down the fence. That was a debacle during a period of my life I'd rather forget, but for the sake of posterity, I did record it over on my blog, for anyone interested.
In the Anzac Creek line 's 3½ year existence, it ran maybe a dozen times, if that. This was because the track was so inaccessible in places, due to having been shoehorned into that little garden bed, that it took an hour to remove the leaves, weeds and marauding ferns from the track. Being so close to the beach, it was near always incredibly humid, and that alone was a dis-incentive to go outside. Then of course my handlaid points weren't terribly reliable, and everything had to be carried from the other end of the house, out to run on the line.

In short, it was easier for me to pack a loco, train and steaming kit in a wheely bag, take a 5-hour round trip down to the AMRA QLD elevated track in Northern Brisbane and run there, than it was to run at home; I used to go down there once every month or two. A lot of things needed to change about the Anzac Creek line, and all those changes simply couldn't happen in that backyard..

The line was finally lifted and we moved out when the unit sold in mid 2018. A lot of hard-learned lessons on what not to do, that tramway was. :roll:

But out of that, I gained the experience, and now have the income to do things properly. My standard of work has certainly improved! Once my new house/workshop is complete and moved into place, a new, far better tramway can materialise.. Over the last year, I've been slowly preparing track, new buildings, wagons, track-side details, and overhauling locos in preparation. :lol:

Thanks for reading,
Aaron
Last edited by Old Man Aaron on Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by LNR » Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:35 pm

There's some nice photos there Aaron, particularly featuring the workshop/engine shed. I like the open air appearance, and imagine it would be typical for a tropical area such as yours.
Grant.

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by dudeface » Wed Nov 22, 2023 9:18 pm

:coolphotos
Especially the ones of Baron and Anzac under steam!
https://m.youtube.com/@Dudeface167
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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by LNR » Sat Jan 27, 2024 4:08 am

HI Aaron,
Have sent you a PM, in case you haven't seen the icon (I mostly don't notice them).
Grant.

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by drewzero1 » Sun Jan 28, 2024 9:58 pm

Thank you for sharing all these pictures! This seems like a very similar size and scope to my project in progress, so the information and inspiration are very helpful. Maybe it'll help avoid some pitfalls I was planning on... but despite all warnings I still find myself looking at that stub switch and thinking, I could make one of those!

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by dudeface » Mon Jan 29, 2024 12:26 am

drewzero1 wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2024 9:58 pm but despite all warnings I still find myself looking at that stub switch and thinking, I could make one of those!
Me too...
https://m.youtube.com/@Dudeface167
Miles-- Trains are fun. With the exception of track power. Argh!

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Re: The "Bad Old Days" - Anzac Creek Tramway Mk.I, 2014 - 2018 (IMAGE-HEAVY)

Post by Old Man Aaron » Mon Jan 29, 2024 7:41 am

No worries Grant, got your message.

I'd highly recommend using a flat bar, (preferably aluminium so it doesn't rust away) as a "spine" down the length of both the moving stub and it's fixed diverting section. The real problem I had with these, (besides the superglue and lack of experience) was the lack of rigidity between said sections. Stainless screws through the "spine" from underneath and into the sleepers, then spike the rails and throw gear on the topside.
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